Heidelberg Materials reports strong 2024 results, with €21.2 billion in revenue, maintaining last year's level despite lower volumes.
The result from current operations (RCO) climbed by 6% to a new record high of €3.2 billion, thanks to a strict cost management. The adjusted earnings per share increased significantly by 11% to €11.9. As in the previous year, the return on invested capital (ROIC) amounted to around 10%. With a good cash flow of €2.2 billion, the leverage ratio remained on last year’s level and reached 1.2x. The specific net CO2 emissions were reduced by a further 1.3% to 527 kg/t of cementitious material compared with the previous year, while the share of sustainable revenue in the cement business line continued to increase to 43.3% (previous year: 39.5%).
"We have persistently continued our growth trajectory and can look back on another very good performance in the previous year”, said Dr Dominik von Achten, Chairman of the Managing Board of Heidelberg Materials. "We have further expanded our presence in the core market of North America and several other important growth markets. Thanks to our broad geographic footprint as well as our focus on cost and price management, we managed to more than compensate for declining demand in certain regions.
I am particularly proud that we once again achieved important milestones on our sustainable transformation journey. With the mechanical completion of our lighthouse project in Brevik, Norway, we have paved the way for the commissioning of the world’s first industrial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in a cement plant. In the course of the year, we will be able to deliver carbon captured evoZero® cement with a net-zero footprint to our customers in Europe. With this achievement, we are driving the transformation and initiating a paradigm shift in the decarbonisation of our industry.
When looking at the current year, we maintain an optimistic outlook. Even though the construction sector remains volatile in some regions, our core markets continue to stabilise. Therefore, we expect that earnings will once again grow in 2025. With our ongoing share buyback programme and our progressive dividend policy, our shareholders continue to participate in our good results.”
Focus on shareholder return
On 25 November 2024, Heidelberg Materials has completed the first of three tranches of its current share buyback programme, successfully acquiring around 3.6 million shares at a total price of about €350 million. All shares were now cancelled. The second tranche is planned to start in the second quarter after the Annual General Meeting of Heidelberg Materials. Last year, Heidelberg Materials launched its second share buyback programme with a maximum duration of three years and a volume of up to €1.2 billion.
Transformation accelerated
To further accelerate its transformation towards sustainable products and profitable growth in a dynamic market environment, Heidelberg Materials has started its “Transformation Accelerator” initiative in November 2024. The focus lies on network optimisation in Europe, efficiencies across functions, and technical initiatives on a global scale. Overall, the initiative is expected to lead to a yearly result contribution of €500 million by the end of 2026.
Portfolio further optimised
During the past financial year, Heidelberg Materials strengthened its presence in key core markets with landmark acquisitions. In North America and Asia-Pacific in particular, Heidelberg Materials made several acquisitions with a focus on growth and sustainability.
Optimistic outlook 2025
Heidelberg Materials is optimistic about the current year. Demand in the construction sector is expected to stabilise at a low level. We expect cost developments on the energy and raw materials markets to remain volatile. As a result, the focus continues to be on price adjustments and a strict cost management.
For the 2025 financial year, Heidelberg Materials anticipates the result from current operations (RCO) to be between €3.25 billion and €3.55 billion. ROIC is expected to be at around 10%. The Managing Board anticipates a further slight reduction in specific net CO2 emissions.
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